Page 58 of Beg Me

“Okay,” I say after I hit Send. “You can go. Take your phone and have fun.”

“Yes! Thanks, Dad.” He heads for the door. “You’re the best,” he calls out over his shoulder just before the door slams.

I sit back in my chair, giving the energy in the room a second to settle. And when it does, it’s like a thick, hot blanket wrapped around Markie and me.

“So,” she says, grinning. “I guess there’s no math tonight.”

“Guess not.”

“Since we don’t have a chaperone, I’m not sure if I should stay. I mean, I’d hate to make you uncomfortable.”

I grin right back at her. “That might be a good idea.” I pause as she tries to make sense of that. “I mean, I’m not sure I have the self-restraint to turn you down twice.”

Her eyes shine. “That’s really good to know.”

“Then you should really not look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you want to get me into trouble.”

She smiles. “Maybe I do.”

I glance around the room—at the dirty kitchen, Gus’s math homework, and the clutter around what actually looks like a home. And now? The beautiful woman sitting across from me.

Three years ago—hell, one year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to fathom that this picture would include me. And if someone would’ve told me that out of all the accomplishments in my life—money, championships, fame—that this would seem like a moment when I felt my life coming together, I’d have laughed in their face.

But it’s true. This is the first time I’ve felt like maybe I’m finding that “something more” that my mom has often talked about.

“One day, you’ll find it—that missing part of your life that you never knew existed. It’ll change the way you wake up in the morning and the color of the sky at dusk. Your life will be filled with something more beautiful and special than you could ever dream, and that’s what I want for you. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

The idea feels like a hurricane inside my brain, threatening to bring a ton of problems with it once it lands. That scares the fuck out of me. But imagining three months from now, when Gus goes home and I return to Nashville without either of them, also feels unnatural. Terrifying, even.

Like maybe this is the something more.

I take a breath and recenter myself.

The owner of the Royals, the rugby legend Renn Brewer’s voice comes back to me. “Control what you can control, Plath. You can’t win the whole match in one play.”

“Are you done eating?” I ask.

She nods, her eyes searching mine.

“Let’s go talk.”

She stands, placing her small palm in mine, and lets me lead her into the living room.

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

Markie

“So, you wanna talk, huh?” I ask Jory as he sits on the couch.

He takes both of my hands in his, pulling me in front of him. His eyes sparkle, telling me that talking isn’t at all what he wants to do. But he’s too much of a gentleman to do that.

I smirk. Don’t worry, big guy. I’ll break you of that before the night is over.